He Built His Own Fire-Fighting Equipment

He Built His Own Fire-Fighting Equipment SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 30-2-20 After reading about FARM SHOW readers who built their own fire-fighting equipment, Art Skoog of Eagle River, Alaska decided to build a fire-fighting system that lays down a sheet of foam ahead of a grass or brush fire. The foam is produced when chemicals mixed with water are released under pressure at the end of a fire hose. "Foam is more effective for fighting fires than just water," he says. "A new type of class A fire fighting foam-gel sticks to vertical surfaces, including windows. It lets you blanket buildings that are threatened by fire, or smother a fire in progress. "I started with 4 by 6-in. steel tubing for the frame with the main cross pieces spaced so it can be picked up by a forklift without damage," says Skoog, who mounted a 225-gal. water tank on the spray skid. Skoog built the 3-pt. hitch out of heavy-duty angle iron and channel iron. The platform was made from steel grating panels with 1-in. squares. An angle iron framework runs from the top of the hitch frame, over the water tank to the back end of the skid. It serves as an anchor point to support the outer ends of the 3 by 10-ft. platform. The frame over the tank also holds a reel of 100 ft. of fire hose. Water from the tank is pumped to the hose by a 150 psi pto-powered Hypro pump. At one end of the water tank is a 5 1/2-hp Honda Multiquip, centrifugal pump with a 100 psi output. It's used to fill the tank from a pond or stream. The intake or suction hose on the Honda pump is a 2-in. dia., 25-ft. hose with a Polypro 1 1/2-in., 40-mesh strainer. He used kamlok fittings on the strainer and for connecting the hose to the pump. The kamlok is known as a reliable connection, but easy and fast to disconnect if needed. At the other end of the tank there's a storage compartment for extra fittings and tools. "I used Schedule 80 pvc pipe to plumb it all together, but used brass valves for dependability," says Skoog. "I have had poor luck with plastic valves." He recommends keeping brass and aluminum fittings apart, as they will corrode when in contact. He also recommends carefully matching flow rates for pumps, piping and nozzles. He sized piping for 10 gpm, which is sufficient flow when spraying foam. Here's a list of websites Skoog recommends for parts, gel-foam, and other equipment and advice: barricadegel.com; nwfirewagon.com; scottyfire.com; wildfire-equipment.com. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Art Skoog, P.O. Box 770890, Eagle River, Alaska 99577 (ph 907 694-3654).

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